Alex, 6 months

Evan, 9 months

Alex, 9 months

Evan, 1 year

Alex, 1 year

Evan, 18 months

Alex, 18 months

Evan, 2 years

Evan, 3 years

Friday, October 28, 2011

Today was tough...
Evan is feeling better, but not better enough to actually do anything...and trying to keep a 2.5 year old boy contained and rested is hard. Thankfully he got to play in his new, bigger room and since he was fever free, we got to go to the playroom. He has been fever free for almost two days now, which is good. He is still barely eating and drinking from getting "tricked" so many times. We don't know when we can leave, but they are for sure not going to let us leave until he is eating and drinking on his own.

Lynne brought Alex up to nurse again throughout the day and they entertained each other for a little bit. :)

One of the hard parts of today was his IV was leaking...so, they tried to fix it without taking the entire thing out. It didn't work, so they tried to put another IV in above his hands. Two different people tried and both times it blew out...so it didn't work. Having to physically hold your child down while he is screaming, trying to kick his feet at the nurses, and trying to hold his hands as still as possible is awful. Having him cry and look at you to help him is even worse. There is nothing you can say or do except continue to hug him and tell him you love him...

Since they never did get the IV back in....he had a few hours of freedom :) He is still wobbly walking around and weak, but he did have fun in the playroom and walking around the room driving his cars and trains.

Since the IV was out, we decided to look ahead to what was going to be needed for treatment. Our options for Evan to get the antibiotics and possible fluid to keep him hydrated, we did not want to do oral medicine (since he's spitting everything out anyway) or the shots. For the shots, he would have to go to the doctor every day for two weeks and get two shots. We thought that would definitely be too much for his body and by the end of the 1st week, he would be a nightmare to get him to the doctor. SO...we decided to go ahead and put a PICC line in. That way, we wouldn't have to keep putting in IV lines and it would be easier to get fluids if necessary.

This is a picture after we had to hold him down to force the anesthesia/sedative medicine down his throat. Thankfully he did manage to swallow some...

Heading down the hall with Daddy to get the PICC line. I couldn't go...I knew from experience that getting a PICC line was tough and I didn't want to be in the room and see my baby like that. Mike said he did better than me :) He did fuss a little, but thankfully the medicine was working and the Child Life worker had him distracted by the IPad. Mike said he was a happy drunk :)

The worst part was after, when the pain medicine wearing off...him crying and grabbing his arm saying "It
hurt". Mike and I (and his parents and my mom were in the room) and we all felt bad. Literally nothing we could do...I was rocking him and Mike and I were trying to keep him from pulling at the velcro to take it off as well as making sure his iv cord wasn't getting tangled. Hoping that the few drops of tylenol we did manage to force down this throat work to help with the arm pain. You know it's bad when the nurse comes in and he says her name and says ______bye bye. Also, when the doctors and nurses come in and tell him what they are going to do, his response is usually to go to the other side of the crib, put his head down and say No thanks....

It was a hard day to keep my composure around E...I just feel so bad for him. I cried a ton today...for his pain. Leaving tonight was awful knowing that his arm hurt so bad and hoping and praying that he would have a good night for Mike.

Thank you all so very much for the comments, thoughts, and prayers. We appreciate it!

2
comments:

Jesse Bodine
said...

Kasey, I have been thinking non stop about you guys & Evan! I am so incredibly sorry that you guys have to go through all of this! We are wishing Evan a speedy recovery & hopefully you will all be home together in no time! You hang in there mommy girl...I cannot imagine how hard it is to see your baby like that. But know so many people are praying for Evan's health & strength for all of you! We would love to drop some stuff off for you guys...I'll text you tomorrow! Get some rest! I'm sure Evan will have a good night. Xoxo

It is so difficult to watch your child in pain. He looks to you and gets strength. Have courage and know that this, too, shall pass. Lean on your Heavenly Father - get your strength from Him. Our prayers are lifting you and your family up.